Westpac/Australian Banks

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1

Need some advice on a good Aussie bank. When I was there before I used Westpac. They charge $5 a month and have a limit to the amout of withdrawals you can do on the account per month. I think it is eight.

I need to be able to set up an account and transfer money from here to Oz before I arrive. Ideally I’d like the account to not have a monthly charge. However, I must say dealing with Westpac was always a breeze.

Which banks do you use and why?

Thanks cobbers.

L.

2

I have a very old savings and Mastercard account with National Australia Bank. I converted the savings to a student account years ago and so don’t get hit with fees. Quite unbelievable thay haven’t woken up to the fact I may have finished my studies within the 15 years since. It’s okay as far as banks go.

Australian banks are hideously greedy.

HG

3

The large Aussies banks (CBA, Westpac, NAB, ANZ) are all very good and reliable. However it is quite hard to find a bank that does not have a monthly charge unless you are are full-time Australian student. The cheapest one I think is ANZ which is $2 and gives you 6 electronic withdraws per month (EFTPOS, ATM).

ANZ also have a branch in Taipei so you can open an account denominated in NT. Then it’s just an instant transfer when you exchange the NT into AUD.

4

Cheers frokky,

Can you give me the details of ANZ in Taipei? I would like open an account before we go.

L.

5

anz.com/Taiwan/pbs/pbs.asp

I’m not too sure of the account opening process… so probably best to give them a call before you head over.

6

Thanks ever so much for your help.

I just rang them. You can’t open an account here to use over in Oz. The lady suggested the best way to do it was to get an international cheque (hui4 piao4) and then open an account when we get there. That makes things really easy!

L.

7

Limey

Not sure if they informed you or not, but ANZ bank here require a minimum balance of NT$ 50,000 to avoid paying the monthly charge of NT$ 500. Apart from that they are very good, and allow you to run multiple accounts with different currencies if required.

8

Thanks, the fifty grand isn’t a problem :slight_smile: